The ’90s were a very interesting decade to be a Marvel fan. The publisher had some of its biggest successes in the decade, but also almost died when the collector’s bubble burst. Looking back on those ten years, the House of Ideas introduced numerous characters, and some of them have joined the ranks of the most popular characters in superhero comics. The biggest success of the decade has proven to be Deadpool. The Merc with a Mouth has reached that level of popularity where even people who don’t read comics know who he is, and is often considered the best character to debut in the ’90s. However, there are actually a lot of other characters who are much better.
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’90s Marvel created some of the most beloved characters in the publisher’s history before you ever get to Deadpool. Many of these characters have become superlatively popular, and have had many amazing stories told about them. These seven ’90s Marvel characters are all amazing, and are even better than Deadpool.
7) Carnage
Venom was introduced in 1988, and made symbiotes popular. However, once Marvel saw that one symbiote-clad villain was popular, they introduced another. Carnage is a simple character — he’s a serial killer that got a symbiote — and he soon became one of the most popular Spider-Man villains ever. His stories are always super simple, with him usually escaping prison/getting his symbiote back/being resurrected and then going on a rampage, but they’ve also been very popular. The character can be used in a lot of interesting ways, and has made his mark on superhero media outside of comics. Former Venom Eddie Brock has become the new Carnage, showing that the ideas behind the character are pretty malleable and that’s fans can’t get enough of the symbiotic psychopath.
6) Domino
X-Force is Marvel’s deadliest mutant team, with some amazing heroes being counted as part of the group. One of the best members of the black ops mutant group that doesn’t get enough credit is Domino. The mutant mercenary’s luck powers allowed her to survive everything thrown at her, and she’s always had one of the best looks of ’90s mutants. She’s been allowed to grow and change over the decades — her Krakoa Era PTSD storyline is way better and deeper than it gets credit for. She was allowed to change from the violent woman of mystery she was into a more well-rounded character that can star in a variety of stories.
5) Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch)
Ghost Rider became popular in the ’70s, with Johnny Blaze based on motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel. However, the character faded away and became a memory for most. Then, the ’90s introduced an all-new Ghost Rider, and the character became one of the most popular Marvel heroes of the early years of the decade. Danny Ketch wanted revenge for the death of his sister Barbara and ended up bonding to the demon Zarathros. Fans loved Danny as the vengeance obsessed morotcyclist (go back and read the issues of Ghost Rider drawn by Mark Texeira; they’re outstanding), giving readers some of the best Marvel superhero/horror comics of the ’90s. The new Spirit of Vengeance’s popularity was enough to get Marvel to try to revitalize their horror characters with excellent comics like “Rise of the Midnight Sons”. Ketch has had some ups and downs since the ’90s, but he’s still a great character with years of stories left in him.
4) War Machine
James Rhodes first appeared back in the ’80s, taking Tony Stark’s place as Iron Man, donning the armor and fighting evil. However, it wouldn’t be until the 1992’s Iron Man (Vol. 1) #284 that Rhodey would become War Machine. So, this one is a technicality, but we’re counting it. The Iron Man armors are quite powerful, and the War Machine was a great modification on it, using Rhodey’s background as a soldier for its armaments. Becoming War Machine made Tony Stark’s former pilot/bodyguard even better ever. He’s joined the Avengers, helmed numerous solo series, and played a small but crucial role in the MCU. It allowed him to become a better character, and a favorite of many fans.
3) Gambit
Gambit is the last great mutant introduced by Chris Claremont, and he made a massive splash right away. Remy LeBeau slid into the “man of mystery” spot that Wolverine once held and became a major part of the X-Men. The character has become one of the most popular mutants ever, and has had his own series’, joined numerous teams, and even led the X-Men. The Cajun mutant became even more popular thanks to X-Men: The Animated Series, and is playing a key role in the current volume of Uncanny X-Men, showing that the years of development have paid off. He’s grown immensely as a character over the decades, and there are plenty of fans out there who want to see him finally get the movie that they’ve been begging for.
2) Ben Reilly
There are a lot of negative things that can be said about the Clone Saga, and a large portion of them would be true. However, one that will never be true is that Ben Reilly is a bad character (no matter how much Marvel has tried to ruin the character over the years). The original Spider-Clone was a compelling hero from the word go, with one of the simplest, coolest costumes of the ’90s. There were even some Spider-Man fans who liked Ben more than Peter (me; I’m “some fans”). He was an excellent character and while even his biggest fans can agree that the “he’s the real Spider-Man” fake-out was a mistake, that doesn’t change how cool he was. Seriously, go and read Spider-Man: The Lost Years (from legendary Spider-creators J.M DeMatteis and John Romita Jr.) and tell me he’s not amazing and spectacular.
1) Cable
Much like War Machine, Cable is technically both an ’80s character and a ’90s character. Nathan Summers first appeared in Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #201, but Cable wouldn’t appear until New Mutants (Vol. 1) #87. At the time, no one knew that he was the future version of Nathan, and he soon became massively popular. A lot of people dislike the time-displaced soldier because he was seemingly everything wrong with ’90s comics — the cybernetic parts, the big guns, the pinched, grimacing face, and Rob Liefeld — but that is ignoring the great stories he’s been a part of (the first Cable series was honestly really good for most of its run) and the way he’s been developed. Cable is an amazing character when the right creators are on his books, and he’s become a legend.
What are your favorite ’90s Marvel characters (sorry, Darkhawk and Sleepwalker fans, I’m sure there are dozens of you)? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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